CPI's independent, experienced perspective can help you find the path to your product's full potential
Even the biggest names in the industry can get so consumed with a product they miss a tweak here or there, or a slight change in the packaging, or timing of release that would make for a more successful launch. It happens more than you think.
I can't count how many times within the first five minutes of being handed a product I've discovered a missed opportunity. And while opinions truly do come a dime a dozen and can quickly lead to too many cooks in the kitchen, one wise counsel can make the difference between profitable success and expensive failure.
At a time when categories are being commoditized, and retail bricks are being upended by smartphone clicks, the need for getting the details right has never been greater.
see the forest... for the trees
Years
Manufacturers /Providers
Retailers /Distributors
Media Contacts
144
28
64
46
You will make better product, and product better with CPI.
Consumer Product Improvement
Design
Strategy
Design a family of products that lend credence to each other and exceed customer
expectations
Manufacturing
Refinement
Transform that key product from
good
to
game-changer
Market
Placement
Place your products at the right retailers
with the right displays
to build your brand
We consult at any point in the product development timeline...
At Consumer Product Improvement (CPI) Consulting
our mission is to bring better product to more people.
My name is Grant Lansdell, founder of CPI. I've been known to break things. Quite a few things.
It started when I was one of two people hired directly by the Victor factory to help JVC win the format war between Compact VHS and 8mm. It was originally assumed that simply being able to take your tapes out of your camcorder, popping them into a "playpack", and then inserting that into your VCR would easily triumph over a format that required you to connect wires between your camcorder and TV. But SONY's marketing prowess was proving to be formidable.
Shortly after I joined, the factory brought in their SECRET WEAPON that was sure to shift the momentum in our favor -
a VCR that could take the VHS-C cassette directly without a playpack! This was made possible by the use of a drawer that could accept either size of tape. Just drop the tape in and press the OPEN/CLOSE button.
Or, in my case, do what we all had been conditioned to do with CD players - push the drawer in.
This action made a hideous grinding sound which silenced everyone in the room except two Japanese engineers that both yelled, "NOOOOOOOO!!!" in unison. Considering I had been with the company less than 90 days, and figuring I'd be fired for destroying the world's only prototype, I decided to explain my actions. After explaining that Americans had been conditioned to do this with their CD players and that it would DEFINITELY happen once the product was released, the engineers huddled and eventually said a phrase I would come to know was commonplace for Victor personnel,
“We will study.”
Although my actions delayed the launch of the product, it was determined that hundreds of thousands of dollars were saved by avoiding a certain recall. Thus began my reputation as the guy to bring products to before launch. For the next fifteen years I went on to launch new product categories, develop longevity (torture) tests for speaker drivers, oversee various international factory QC-standards, conduct focus groups for cutting-edge designs, and win JVC's first Future Design competition.
Over the last dozen years as a buyer for a major retailer I've had the good fortune to work with nearly all of the major Consumer Electronics companies discussing designs, marketing and value statements for literally thousands of products.
Now it's your turn...
"NOOOOOOOO!!!"
1989
Now Is The Time
Contact CPI before or during prototyping to save time and resources, and ensure your direction is competitive
Contact CPI after prototyping to maximize your design before everything is "baked"
Contact CPI during production to establish benchmark QC, refine packaging and focus sales efforts
